We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ryah Jay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ryah below.

Ryah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

MHLF Beauty was named after I had my son. I had already been an aesthetician for 3 years but I never named my business. Pronounced “milf” I wanted to make it for the moms looking to get their sexy back after having a child. I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself or my body and deciding to do self care and get my lashes done really boosted my confidence. I wanted to give other women the same experience.

Herbs n’ Harlem was started after I went through my spiritual journey. I named it after my first born and decided I wanted to create generational wealth for mh family. It started off as a healing salt company and a year later I added 100% soy candles and so far it’s been an amazing experience. The love and support that I have received for both of my businesses has been so beautiful and I’m truly grateful

Ryah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been into beauty since I was a little girl! I used to do my moms makeup when she would go out with her friends and as I got older I became obsessed with my skincare routines and makeup looks. When I went to esthetics school I never thought I would do lash extensions let alone finish school. I started school 8 weeks pregnant but I finished school childless. I lost my baby at 13 weeks while in school. It was so hard to go back but I was determined to finish. A year later I started my own Aesthetic business. While only 2 months of working for myself I became pregnant again only to lose my baby at 5 months pregnant. I was devastated and wanted to give up so bad. It was a dark time for me but the only thing that helped me was doing my makeup. That was my escape. I started going live and doing avant-garde makeup looks and started to gain a huge following. I then decided to move to Los Angeles to enhance my skills. I did my first celebrities and also became pregnant with my son. This time our pregnancy was successful and we went on to have our son the following year.

I thought with Covid and a newborn baby I would have to slow down but my business had other plans! I made my first 10k in 2021 and was extremely busy! Now I have a beautiful daughter and a 2nd business that’s also doing well!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I created my audience first through makeup and going live. I always stay consistent with my posts and finding your niche is the biggest thing! I started a Tiktok and only wanted it to be about my life as a mom and I quickly gained over 22k followers. Be natural and most importantly be yourself!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When my husband and I lost our 2nd baby we were extremely sad but determined not to give up. Trying to build and family and business was hard especially when creating a family was harder than creating the business. I didn’t know if I was going to make it out of the dark place I was in some days but I was very resilient on getting my mental health back strong.

This in a way keeps me going even when times are rough because I know I am in control of my own reality and happiness. I know that my emotions are temporary and time can change so much. Having resilience helped me heal in way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.herbsnharlem.com
• Instagram: ryahjay_
• Facebook: Ryah Jay
• Other: @mhlfbeauty @herbsnharlem are my business instagrams

Image Credits
Mandi Harris – photographer